爱因斯坦用过的小提琴拍卖价超百万英镑

近日，爱因斯坦用过的一把小提琴在英国被拍卖，价格超过100万英镑（1英镑约9.54元人民币）。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. What can be inferred about public perception of Einstein's musical ability?

A. It was widely celebrated during his lifetime.

B. It remained largely unknown to many people.

C. It was dismissed as a distraction from his scientific work.

D. It inspired several of his contemporaries to become musicians.

无注释原文：

Einstein's violin sells for £860k at auction

From: BBC

A violin that once belonged to one of history's best known scientists has sold at auction for £860,000.

The 1894 Zunterer violin is believed to have been Einstein's first and was initially expected to fetch around £300,000 when it went under the hammer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.

A philosophy book that Einstein gifted to a friend also sold for £2,200.

All prices will have an extra 26.4% commission added on top, meaning the final price for the violin will be above £1m.

Auctioneers believe that once the commission is added the sale could be the highest ever for a violin that was not previously owned by a concert violinist or made by Stradivarius - with the previous record being held by an instrument that was likely played on the Titanic.

Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and historical memorabilia specialist at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, described the sale, which was completed in about 10 minutes, as a "special moment".

"We had three phone bidders heavily involved up until the very end," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

Mr Albury said many people were unaware that Einstein had played the violin.

"He always said that if he hadn't been a scientist, he'd have liked to have been a musician.

"He started learning the violin at about the age of four and played it every day through his life."

A bike saddle also owned by Einstein did not sell at the auction and may be re-listed.

All the items up for auction were given to his good friend and physicist colleague Max von Laue in late 1932.

Shortly afterwards Einstein fled to America to escape the rise of antisemitism and Nazism in Germany.

Max von Laue gifted them to an acquaintance and Einstein fan, Margarete Hommrich 20 years later, and it was her great-great granddaughter who had now put them up for sale.

Another violin once owned by Einstein, which was gifted to him when he arrived in the United States in 1933, was sold at auction for $516,500 (£370,000) in New York in 2018.

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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Einstein's violin sells for £860k at auction

From: BBC

A violin that once belonged to one of history's best known scientists has sold at auction for £860,000.

一把曾属于历史上最著名科学家之一的小提琴在拍卖会上以86万英镑（115万美元）的价格售出。

auction /ˈɔːk.ʃən/ 1) 作名词，表示“拍卖”，英文解释为“An auction is a public sale where items are sold to the person who offers the highest price.”举个🌰：The painting is expected to fetch up to $123,000 at auction. 这幅画预计在拍卖会上能卖到12.3万美元。

2) 作动词，表示“拍卖”，英文解释为“If something is auctioned, it is sold in an auction.” 举个🌰：Two drawings by French artist Cocteau will be auctioned next week. 法国艺术家科克托的两幅画作将在下周拍卖。

The 1894 Zunterer violin is believed to have been Einstein's first and was initially expected to fetch around £300,000 when it went under the hammer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.

这把1894年的郑特勒（Zunterer）小提琴被认为是爱因斯坦的第一把小提琴，最初在格洛斯特郡南塞尔尼的多米尼克·温特拍卖行（Dominic Winter Auctioneers）拍卖时，预计售价约为30万英镑。

fetch /fetʃ/ 1）表示“（去）拿来，取回；（去）请来”，英文解释为“to go to another place to get something or someone and bring it, him, or her back”举个🌰：Could you fetch me my glasses/fetch my glasses for me from the other room, please? 你去另一个房间帮我把眼镜拿过来好吗？

2）表示“售得，卖得（…价钱）”，英文解释为“to be sold for a particular amount of money”举个🌰：The paintings fetched over a million dollars. 这些油画卖了100多万美元。

come/go under the hammer表示“被拍卖”，英文解释为“to be sold at an auction (= public sale where objects are bought by the people who offer the most money)”举个🌰：A private collection of her early paintings is expected to go under the hammer next year. 一批由私人收藏的她的早期画作预计将于明年拍卖。

auctioneer /ˌɔːk.ʃəˈnɪər/ 表示“拍卖人；拍卖商”，英文解释为“a person in charge of an auction who calls out the prices that people offer”

A philosophy book that Einstein gifted to a friend also sold for £2,200.

爱因斯坦赠送给朋友的一本哲学书也以2,200英镑的价格售出。

All prices will have an extra 26.4% commission added on top, meaning the final price for the violin will be above £1m.

所有价格均需额外加收26.4%的佣金，这意味着这把小提琴的最终成交价将超过100万英镑。

commission /kəˈmɪʃ.ən/ 1）作名词，表示“（负责调查问题真相或原因的）委员会”，英文解释为“a group of people who have been formally chosen to discover information about a problem or examine the reasons why the problem exists”如：a commission on alcohol abuse/racial tension 酗酒问题/种族间紧张关系调查委员会。

2）表示“佣金；提成；回扣”，英文解释为“a payment to someone who sells goods that is directly related to the amount sold, or a system that uses such payments”举个🌰：Is she paid a regular wage or is it on/by commission only? 她拿正式工资还是只拿提成？

3）作动词，表示“委任（或任命）…为军官”，英文解释为“to give someone the official authority to be an officer in the armed forces”举个🌰：She was commissioned in 2025. 她于2025年被任命为军官。

4）作动词，表示“（正式地）安排…做，委托…做”，英文解释为“to formally choose someone to do a special piece of work, or to formally ask for a special piece of work from someone”举个🌰：She's commissioned an artist to paint her portrait. 她请了一位艺术家为她画肖像。

5）in commission表示“（机器、军舰等）在使用中的，在服役的”，英文解释为“If something, such as a machine or a military ship, is in commission it is working and ready for use.”这个含义也可以直接将commission当作动词用，相当于to put (a ship) in commission. 举个🌰：The ship was commissioned in 2025. 该舰于2025年服役。

6）out of commission 表示“（机器、军舰等）坏了的，不可使用的，退役的”，英文解释为“If something, such as a machine or a military ship, is out of commission it is broken or not available to be used.”

Auctioneers believe that once the commission is added the sale could be the highest ever for a violin that was not previously owned by a concert violinist or made by Stradivarius - with the previous record being held by an instrument that was likely played on the Titanic.

拍卖师认为，加上佣金后，这把小提琴的成交价可能创下有史以来非音乐会小提琴家或斯特拉迪瓦里制造的小提琴的最高纪录——此前的最高纪录是由一把很可能在泰坦尼克号上演奏过的乐器保持的。

Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and historical memorabilia specialist at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, described the sale, which was completed in about 10 minutes, as a "special moment".

多米尼克·温特拍卖行（Dominic Winter Auctioneers）的高级拍卖师兼历史纪念品专家克里斯·奥尔伯里（Chris Albury）将这场约10分钟完成的拍卖描述为一个“特殊时刻”。

memorabilia /ˌmem.ər.əˈbɪl.i.ə/ 表示“纪念品”，英文解释为“objects that are collected because they are connected with a person or event that is thought to be very interesting”如：an auction of pop memorabilia 通俗艺术纪念品的拍卖。

"We had three phone bidders heavily involved up until the very end," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

他告诉BBC格洛斯特郡电台：“直到最后，我们都有三位电话竞标者积极参与。”

bidder /ˈbɪd.ər/ 表示“出价的人”，英文解释为“someone who offers to pay a particular amount of money for something”举个🌰：In an auction, goods or property are sold to the highest bidder (= the person who offers the most money). 在拍卖中，货物或房产会卖给出价最高的人。

Mr Albury said many people were unaware that Einstein had played the violin.

他说，很多人并不知道爱因斯坦曾经拉过小提琴。

"He always said that if he hadn't been a scientist, he'd have liked to have been a musician.

“他总是说，如果他没有成为科学家，他希望成为一名音乐家。”

"He started learning the violin at about the age of four and played it every day through his life."

“他大约四岁开始学习小提琴，并且终生每天都拉。”奥尔伯里说。

A bike saddle also owned by Einstein did not sell at the auction and may be re-listed.

爱因斯坦的另一件自行车鞍座在拍卖会上未售出，可能会重新上架。

saddle /ˈsæd.əl/ 表示“马鞍；（自行车、摩托车等的）车座，鞍座”，英文解释为“a seat on a bicycle, motorcycle, etc.”

saddle sb with sth表示“使（某人）负担，使（某人）承担（重任或难题）”，英文解释为“to give someone a responsibility or problem that they do not want and that will cause them a lot of work or difficulty”举个🌰：The company is saddled with debt. 公司负债累累。

All the items up for auction were given to his good friend and physicist colleague Max von Laue in late 1932.

所有拍卖品均于1932年底赠送给他的好友兼物理学家同事马克斯·冯·劳厄（Max von Laue）。

physicist /ˈfɪz.ɪ.sɪst/ 表示“物理学家”，英文解释为“a person who studies physics or whose job is connected with physics”

Shortly afterwards Einstein fled to America to escape the rise of antisemitism and Nazism in Germany.

此后不久，爱因斯坦为了躲避德国兴起的反犹太主义和纳粹主义，逃往美国。

antisemitism /ˌæn.tiˈsem.ɪt.ɪ.zəm/ 表示“反犹太主义，排犹主义”，英文解释为“hate directed at Jewish people, or cruel or unfair treatment of people because they are Jewish”

Max von Laue gifted them to an acquaintance and Einstein fan, Margarete Hommrich 20 years later, and it was her great-great granddaughter who had now put them up for sale.

20年后，马克斯·冯·劳厄将这些物品赠送给他的一位熟人兼爱因斯坦的粉丝玛格丽特·霍姆里希（Margarete Hommrich），而现在正是她的曾曾孙女将它们拍卖。

acquaintance /əˈkweɪn.təns/ 表示“相识的人，熟人；泛泛之交”，英文解释为“a person that you have met but do not know well”如：a business acquaintance 在生意上打过交道的人。

Another violin once owned by Einstein, which was gifted to him when he arrived in the United States in 1933, was sold at auction for $516,500 (£370,000) in New York in 2018.

爱因斯坦曾经拥有的另一把小提琴是他1933年抵达美国时收到的礼物，于2018年在纽约以516,500美元（370,000英镑）的价格成交。

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